ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Bankrupt US Airways Group Inc. (search) sought court-imposed wage and benefit cuts from its union contracts Thursday to save money and survive, while the judge in the case said he wants the airline to remain in business.
The No. 7 domestic airline, in bankruptcy for the second time in two years, also sought flexibility for outsourcing maintenance and reducing the number of aircraft in its mainline fleet which could result in furloughs.
"If relief is not granted, there is a high probability (US Airways) won't survive," the company's lead bankruptcy attorney Brian Leitch said at a hearing. "We're at the part where there are not many options, it's a simple reality."
Separately, Judge Stephen Mitchell of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied a request from the airline's mechanics union to delay the proceedings, and said it was important to move forward in considering the airline's request for court intervention.
"I want to do what's right, I want to do what's fair, I want to see this airline survive," the judge said.
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